Food trucks have certainly become a booming business over the last several years. They seem to show up at every major event and are a common fixture in urban areas. In fact, food trucks grew an average rate of 7.9 percent per year from 2011 through 2016. However, combining food services with a commercial vehicle creates some interesting implications for how to insure such a business. So below we’ll look at what insurance food trucks need, how much food truck insurance costs, and recommend the 5 best food truck insurance companies for your consideration.
- Top 5 Providers of Food Truck Insurance
- What is Food Truck Insurance?
- What Kind of Insurance does a Food Truck Need?
- Who Needs Food Truck Insurance?
- How Much Does Food Truck Insurance Cost?
- How to Find Cheap Food Truck Insurance?
- How to Find Food Truck Insurance Quotes
Top 5 Providers of Food Truck Insurance
Since food trucks are a popular business to run, and because they require a wide variety of insurance types, it’s fairly easy to find food truck insurance from companies that specialize in these types of packages.
- Progressive Food Truck Insurance: Best commercial truck insurance
- CoverWallet: Best for Comparing Online Quotes
- Insurance Bee: Focusing on liability insurance
- Insure My Food Truck: Food truck-specific company
- Simply Business: Best for knowledgeable agents and customer service
Progressive Food Truck Insurance: Best Commercial Truck Policies
Progressive Commercial is a well-known auto insurance company. They are also the biggest commercial truck insurance company. They are known for offering auto policies directly to consumers, not going through agents or brokers. They are the only truck insurance company that offers commercial truck insurance quotes online. It is super easy and fast to get a quote online with Progressive.
You can also get other insurance coverages that you need for your food truck such as general liability insurance or liquor liability coverage through Progressive Commercial agency. They work with several leading business insurance companies and will get you other coverages that you need for your food truck business.
| Pros | Cons |
| – Insuring the most commercial vehicles, including trucks, in the country. Had the biggest market share and the most experience – Easy to get a quote online – Offer several discounts to reduce costs – Comprehensive trucking business insurance, including trucking general liability | – May not offer other coverages that food truck businesses also need such as workers comp or food liability coverage – Original rates without discounts may be a bit expensive. However, discounts will reduce rate |
CoverWallet: Best for Comparing Online Quotes
CoverWallet is a digital commercial insurance broker. They work with several leading business insurance companies such as Hiscox, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, etc. just to name a few. They specialize in helping small businesses in a wide variety of industries to compare and buy business insurance online. Once you provide your personal and business information on their quote form, they will recommend you the right insurance coverage for your business and provide you with several quotes to choose from.
CoverWallet offers 4 levels of food truck insurance: Basic, Standard, Pro, and Custom suitable for different sizes of food truck business. A basic food truck insurance policy costs $39/ month and covers general liability only. A pro food truck insurance policy costs $299/ month and covers general liability, product liability, and commercial auto insurance.
If you are new to buying food truck insurance, you should spend 15-20 minutes to have a conversation with one of their agents to learn more about the potential risks your food truck business is exposed to and how to protect you and your business properly. Their agents are very knowledgeable and willing to explain everything thoroughly so that you can make the right decisions.
| Pros | Cons |
| – Offer several quotes online, making it easy to compare quotes to choose the cheapest one – Offer all coverages that a food truck business may need, making it easy to have all coverages from the same company – Easy to manage all of your policies with CoverWallet in their digital dashboard even you buy policies from several insurance companies – Knowledgable agents that can help you understand the nuances of food truck insurance if you are new to this. | – Online quotes comparison is limited to trucking general liability coverage and workers comp insurance only. – You may have to file a claim directly with the insurance company |
InsuranceBee: Focus on Liability Insurance
Insurance Bee specializes in liability insurance. As such, it has a page detailing this product for mobile food vendors. The drawback with this option is that the company only offers liability insurance, so you’ll have to look elsewhere for products like commercial truck insurance. Once you go into the quote process, you’ll find that the company’s policies are underwritten by Hiscox, a major and reputable small business insurer. The company allows you to apply for a policy right on the website.
| Pros | Cons |
| – Specialized in food liability insurance – Reasonable rates for food liability coverage – Policies underwritten by a reputable carrier, Hiscox – Easy to get quotes and buy the policy online | – Only offer food liability coverage. You have to buy other coverages elsewhere – May be difficult for you to manage all policies needed for your food truck business |
Insure My Food Truck: Food Truck- Focused Insurance Company
If you’re looking for a company that specializes in food trucks directly, this is certainly an option. The company has been around since 2011. It covers a wide variety of insurance types for food trucks, like auto liability, auto physical damage, general liability, property coverage, worker’s compensation and even liability umbrella coverage. In order to get a quote, you must fill out a contact form and a rep tries to get back to you within the same day.
| Pros | Cons |
| – Specializing in insuring food truck business with all necessary coverages – Lots of experience working with different types of food truck businesses | – Online experience isn’t ideal. No quotes online and you can’t buy the policy online either – May be more expensive than other options |
Simply Business: Best for finding low-cost food truck coverage
Simply Business is another insurance agency specializing in small businesses. They work with several leading small business insurance companies and help you find food truck coverages at the lowest possible costs. Their main focus is to help you find the cheapest coverage available. Cheaper coverage may have lower limits or more exclusions, but they let you make the choice if you prefer the cheapest or more comprehensive coverage. That focus also drives their agency operations. They may be more willing to work with insurance companies that are lesser known but may have lower costs, although these companies still have good financial strength ratings.
You can buy all coverages that you need for your food truck business through them. A benefit of working with Simply Business is that if you are new to the food truck business, you can talk to their agents who are very knowledgeable in the small business insurance world and they can guide you through the process to make sure you have sufficient protection at the lowest cost.
| Pros | Cons |
| – Specializing in finding carriers offering low-cost coverage for you. You may not be able to find these carriers on your own – Easy to compare and choose the cheapest quote for your food truck business – Provide a wealth of knowledge. Their agents are super knowledgeable and helpful | – Some carriers may not be very well-known. However, they all have good financial strength rating – You may need to file a claim directly with the insurance companies |
What is Food Truck Insurance?
Food truck insurance simply designates the types of insurance you will need to carry if you run a food truck business. The most common types of insurance a food truck will need to look into are commercial auto and general liability.
For instance, if your food truck gets in an accident, commercial auto can cover the damages. Some plans even let you add physical damage to a policy so that you can protect the vehicle and any equipment and appliances that are permanent fixtures.
>>MORE: How Much does Commercial Auto Insurance Cost?
General liability is also necessary in the case of accidents that you’re liable for. For instance, if a customer gets burned from hot food, this type of insurance can cover you. From there, you may also need to carry other types of insurance, like worker’s compensation if you have employees.
As a food truck operator, in addition to the insurance types mentioned above, you might need product liability, which can protect you if the products you manufacture cause damages. You should also consider property insurance, which protects the equipment attached inside the truck you need to run your food truck business, and business interruption, which covers you in case your business is shut down for a while. Combining general liability, property insurance, and business interruption insurance, you can get all three bundled in one Business Owners Policy (BOP) insurance if your food truck business’s annual revenue is less than $1MM.
What Kind of Insurance Does a Food Truck Need?
Below are the business insurance policies that a food truck owner needs to have to protect the food truck business from risks:
General liability insurance for food truck businesses
General liability insurance covers you if someone trips over and causes bodily harm in your food truck. It also protects you from claims against your advertising policies. This is similar to trucking general liability insurance.
The great thing about general liability insurance is that it can be customized to fit with different types of small businesses. For a food truck business, an endorsement of product liability should be added to the policy to protect you against the claims related to your food quality. Learn more at the best general liability insurance companies.
Commercial truck insurance for food truck businesses
If you run a food truck business, you must have this coverage, at least the primary trucking liability coverage. It is required by law in all 50 states. It pays for the third party’s bodily injuries and property damages if the food truck runs into an accident and you are at fault. You can also add additional coverages to cover the reparation and replacement costs of the food truck itself. It is called trucking physical damage coverage.
If you are looking for this coverage only to start operating your food truck business, you should consider Progressive or biBERK. They are two best commercial truck providers in the industry. While Progressive’s trucking policies are more comprehensive, biBERK’s policies tend to have cheaper rates yet less coverage amount.
Commercial property insurance for food truck businesses
Commercial property insurance to cover equipment attached inside the truck that you need to run your food truck business, including an ipad or iphone that you use to process transactions. These are the essential assets that you need to run your food truck business. Even if it is not required, you should consider having it. Learn more at the best commercial property insurance companies.
Liquor liability insurance for food truck businesses
Liquor liability insurance covers the liability associated with selling liquor if you want to sell liquor from your food truck.
Workers’ compensation insurance for food truckers
If you have additional full-time employees that work in the food truck with you, you must provide workers comp insurance to protect them in case they get injured or become ill at work. This coverage is required by law in all states, except Texas. This coverage is quite expensive for food truck employees since it combines the two high-risk industries: trucking and restaurant. Make sure you shop around to find the cheapest quote if you buy this insurance. Learn more at the best workers comp insurance companies for truckers and the best workers comp insurance companies for restaurants.
Occupational accident insurance for food truckers
Occupational accident insurance is similar to workers comp insurance, but it is mostly for independent contractors. It is a less comprehensive and lighter version of workers comp insurance, thus usually cheaper, about half of the workers comp insurance cost. Companies are not required by laws to provide workers comp insurance for independent contractors. They can provide occupational accident insurance to protect their contractor employees, especially in the trucking business. Learn more at the best occupational accident insurance for truckers.
Who Needs Food Truck Insurance?
Food truck insurance can also cover a wide variety of food truck businesses. Below is the list of several different types of food trucks that should look into getting insured:
- Mobile food trucks
- Vending trucks
- Lunch trucks
- Catering trucks – Learn more at the best insurance companies for catering trucks
- Ice cream trucks
- Concession trucks
Basically, if you sell food out of a vehicle, you should look into getting food truck insurance.
- >>MORE: How to Find Restaurant Insurance
- >>MORE: What is Food Trailer Insurance and Where to Find It?
How Much Does Food Truck Insurance Cost?
The average food truck insurance cost is $180 a month if you only have general liability and commercial truck insurance coverages. If you add occupational accident insurance or workers comp insurance, you will pay around $300-$400 a month. Below are the average costs of different food truck insurance coverages:
| Food truck insurance coverages | Average costs |
| Commercial truck insurance | $142 per month |
| General liability insurance | $38 per month |
| Occupational accident coverage | $89 per month |
| Workers comp insurance | $146 per month |
These are just the averages. Your quotes will be different. Be sure to shop around with a few companies or work with a broker like Simply Business and CoverWallet to compare several quotes to find the cheapest one for you.
Learn more at how much food truck insurance costs
What factors affect the cost of food truck insurance?
The costs can vary based on a number of factors. A few examples include:
- How much insurance you choose to carry and which types
- What kind of limits and deductibles you choose on each insurance plan
- The size of your business, such as if you have multiple food trucks
- Whether you have employees and how many
- Insurance rate can vary by state and how populated your area is, since this can increase your risk
- Some insurance types are more expensive if you’ve had claims in the past
- What types of food you sell can affect cost: for instance, fried foods come with more of a risk for injury because of the hot oil involved
- How involved your equipment is, like if you have an expensive grill permanently attached to the truck
How to find cheap food truck insurance?
Insurance can be a significant expense to operate your food truck business. Of course, you need insurance to protect you and your business when things happen. It is not worth skipping insurance. However, it doesn’t need to break your bank account either. Below are some tips for you to find cheap food truck insurance coverage:
Compare several quotes to find the cheapest policy
Different insurance companies always give you different quotes. The only way to make sure you are not leaving money on the table is to get several quotes to compare and choose the cheapest one. Getting several quotes from several providers may be time-consuming. You can choose to work with a broker like CoverWallet or Simply Business so that you can compare several quotes in one place. If you are new to the food truck business, you may want to speak to one of their knowledgeable agents so that they can advise you on the right policies and the right coverage limits for your business.
Keep a clean driving record
As you know, commercial truck insurance is the most important policy for your food truck business. It is required by laws in all 50 states. It is also the most expensive coverage. If you can get cheap commercial truck insurance for your food truck, you will save a lot of money on your insurance expenses. The best way to make sure you get cheap commercial truck insurance is to keep a clean driving record, even your personal driving record.
Run a safety-first operation
Food truck business operation is actually quite risky. You combine the two risky businesses into one operation: running a restaurant and driving a truck. Make sure your operation is safety-first: following all safety protocols and policies, having signs at the right places, regularly maintaining your vehicles and other tools, regularly training your staff and retraining them when needed, etc. You can also get relevant certifications by the industry and these certifications may qualify you for additional discounts from insurance companies as well.
How to Find Food Truck Insurance Quotes
One way to find and compare food truck insurance quotes is through a digital broker like CoverWallet. They offer bundled policies specifically designed for the food truck business. This was the easiest way to get an idea of the costs since many quote sites need specific driver’s licenses and vehicle information to provide a quote for a food truck.
CoverWallet outlines the different price ranges you can expect to pay for food truck insurance based on tiers. Each tier covers different types of insurance.
- Basic tier: general liability from $39 per month
- Standard tier: general liability + product liability from $99 per month
- Pro tier: general liability + product liability + commercial auto from $299 per month
- Custom tier: lets you add other types like worker’s compensation, property and business interruption, no set price given
As you can see, prices can fluctuate wildly depending on which insurance products you select.
Is FLIP Food Truck Insurance Good?
FLIP stands for Food Liability Insurance Program. As the name suggests, they focus on providing liability insurance for any food companies such as restaurants, bakers, bakeries, farmer markets, food manufacturers, caterers, and of course food truck business owners. Their food truck policy includes general liability insurance, product liability insurance, business property insurance, workers compensation insurance, and cyber liability insurance.
Depending on the size of your food truck business, you can determine which insurance to include in your food truck insurance policy. If you just want a simple policy, you can get their most basic food truck insurance policy which costs $299 a year, which is a bit more expensive than other options we recommend above.
One other disadvantage of the FLIP food truck insurance is that they don’t offer commercial auto insurance, which is one of the most important policies critically needed for the food truck business.
If you are worried about the food liability that your food truck business is exposed to, you might want to give FLIP food truck insurance policy a look.
Do I need insurance to operate my food truck business?
Yes definitely. As you can see above, a food truck business is relatively complicated and carries several inherent risks. Anything can happen and without protection, it will ruin your business and finance. Getting a food truck insurance policy will protect you and your business when bad luck happens. You can easily compare quotes from several companies in one place with digital brokers like CoverWallet or Simply Business. A basic food truck insurance policy with CoverWallet costs $39/month only.
>>MORE: How to Get A Food Truck License
Mobile food truck insurance
A mobile food truck business will require the same insurance coverage as other food truck types. However, a mobile food truck insurance policy may be a bit more expensive because commercial truck coverage is a bit more expensive if you are driving around a lot more. In our estimate, a mobile food truck insurance policy is likely to be 15% more expensive, around $165 per month for the truck coverage.
Working with the right insurance companies who have a lot of experience insuring trucks such as Progressive or biBERK may help you secure the right coverage at more affordable rates. It is also super easy and fast to get food truck insurance quotes on their websites. While Progressive’s policy may be more comprehensive, biBERK rates may be better, although that may come with lower coverage limits. Be sure to read and compare the quotes carefully to make the right decision for your business.
Final Thoughts
- Food truck insurance is an umbrella term that covers all the different types of insurance a food truck should carry. It’s most common for a food truck to have general liability and commercial auto insurance. From there, a food truck operator may need worker’s compensation. Other products are also options, like product liability, property insurance or business interruption insurance, as a few examples.
- Prices can vary drastically based on your operations and which products you select.
- When looking for food truck insurance, there are businesses that cater to food trucks specifically, or you can go with a more general business insurance company.
